Xuan Qing diligently escorted each of the one hundred players back to the resurrection point, one by one.
When he finished his task, he wagged his tail and returned to his father. He rubbed his face affectionately against his father, then shifted back into his black-haired, blue-eyed human form and looped both arms around his father's arm, giving it a gentle shake.
Just then, the players began returning from the resurrection point in turn, stopping in front of the father and son. Of course, they all had a lot to say, but the shock to their mind and spirit was actually quite limited—after all, they weren’t stupid. Suffering for cultivation was to be expected, wasn't it?
Wanwan came back hand in hand with her brother, Xiao Jin, following the crowd. To be honest, that merciless smack on the head with a tail just now… she still felt uneasy. But when she saw the "culprit" openly clinging to her father's arm and acting cute, a sense of crisis bloomed within her and completely eclipsed that hint of fear: how could Aunt Han still look on with a smile at this… at this person...
Thinking this, Wanwan tightened her grip on her brother’s hand.
Xiao Jin furrowed his brows and shook his sister's arm, reminding her that with so many people around, she should save her questions for another time when they were alone.
Qin Jingzhou patted his son Xuan Qing on the head, then addressed the hundred players, “Half of you go chop wood, the other half go mine. Of course, I’ll still create obstacles and setbacks, so don’t expect to earn ranking points easily through wood collection or mining. Not until you’re strong enough to leave the novice area. By then, you'll also have gained plenty of benefits back in your own world. Good foundations before the real spiritual revival is key.”
The players, especially the veterans like Xun Qiushui and their group, all perked up at once: so it really was an other-worldly cultivation academy!
Qin Jingzhou snapped his fingers, and a row of twenty enormous toolboxes appeared out of thin air. “Pick whichever tools suit you best and get to work.” With that, he and Ling Jing Xuan Qing vanished.
The summoned players had mentalities well above the average. Having each found their ideal “insect legs” among the tools, they quickly formed groups and started both gathering resources and discussing as they worked… truly managing to do both at once.
Excitement ran high among the players. The training robots waited for their moment, then sent players back to the rebirth point with seamless combos.
Unlike yesterday or the day before, when veteran players might have resisted a couple of times, today their game planners and administrators—no, better to call them Principal and Discipline Director—were absolutely ruthless.
Most players saw what was going on. So, once back at the rebirth point, they all swapped contact details and, after logging off, arranged to meet up in person.
After all new players exchanged for “Xin Jing Philosophy” and successfully completed their first round of cultivation, Qin Jingzhou forced all the players offline—except for the Xiao family.
Qin Jingzhou took Ling Jing by the hand and volunteered, “Actually, she and I have had ties over several lifetimes already.”
Ling Jing smiled and waved at the Xiao family, half truthfully, half playfully, “It's only recently that I’ve remembered my past life, too.”
The Xiao family wildly exchanged glances: I knew it! Jingzhou's feelings for Miss Han are not just love at first sight!
Qin Jingzhou let go of Ling Jing’s hand and pulled Xuan Qing in front of himself. “This is my son from my previous life.” He looked at the twins. “He’s your older brother now, too.”
Wanwan blurted out, “Dad, when you said you'd gained 'good fortune,' did you mean you and… Aunt Han both remembered your past lives? And is the reason you like to ruffle my hair because he… my brother, liked it too?”
Qin Jingzhou nodded with a smile. “That's right.”
Wanwan rubbed her small face hard. “Even though I’ve always dreamed of being a little princess, the truth is I'm so much more awesome than a princess… Let's see, I’m really having a hard time processing this.”
Xiao Jin, always taciturn, suddenly spoke, “It’s like… ascending to the heavens in a single leap. A bit… overwhelming.”
Qin Jingzhou rubbed Xuan Qing’s head. “What do you think of your new little brother and sister?”
Xuan Qing looked his new siblings over. “They seem all right.”
Sensing the situation, Ling Jing sent a voice transmission, “That’s his promise, that he’ll take good care of his little brother and sister.”
Qin Jingzhou replied, “Exactly.”
Xuan Qing had only ever wanted to be “Dad’s favorite child,” not “Dad’s only child.” So he spoke earnestly, “This lifetime, his forever-faithful little sweetheart isn’t here, so he relies on me even more. In his world, people combined their bloodlines with ancient gods and beasts to fight the Zerg. That path really didn’t suit him, and his old cultivation technique was useless there.”
Ling Jing continued, “Without beloved family to inspire… he was doomed to a bad end unless you came.”
“Yes. That child was never cut out to be a lone wolf.”
As Qin Jingzhou and Ling Jing communicated, he still explained to the Xiao family about the coming spiritual revival and huge changes ahead. He described the impending era of the Chaotic Era, then gave the Xiao family some individual tutoring.
Since they firmly believed “if my family gets a cheat code, that means I do too,” the Xiao family perked up and listened intently.
After the first lesson, Qin Jingzhou and the Xiao family returned to the other world.
In that world, Xun Qiushui, Yan Tongwei, and the others had already gathered in An Jin’s hospital room, discussing their next move.
Though An Jin still couldn’t wake up at this point, he was already aware enough of the outside world that anything said near his ear, he’d definitely be able to hear.
An Qi, well aware of An Jin’s condition, sat on a chair by her brother’s bedside and cut straight to the point. “So we actually mistook the Principal and Discipline Director, but that’s not the main thing. What's crucial is that Principal Xiao isn’t happy with us veteran players’ progress, so he just gathered a hundred people to cultivate together. Clearly… the spiritual revival is right around the corner.”
It wasn’t just the Xiao family among the new players who recognized Qin Jingzhou, so naturally, An Qi and the other old players learned the Principal’s true identity when exchanging information.
Xun Qiushui pushed up his glasses. “I get the feeling Principal Xiao is allowing us to contact the officials.”
Yan Tongwei said, “But isn’t it still lacking a bit of credibility just yet? So far, all I’ve noticed is that my senses are sharper… I’ve been cultivating anytime I can since I got back.”
An Qi added, “My brother looks like he could wake up at any moment, but my parents would credit Su Huaizhen, not our strange adventures.”
Similar conversations were happening all over Hua Country.
Qin Jingzhou trusted that this group wouldn’t act rashly, and indeed, none of the players tried to approach him directly.
Nothing happened for the next few days, until the day before the first spiritual energy tide. Before the players logged off, he told them, “Be ready.”
The players understood at once.
When they returned home, they almost immediately noticed that the air itself seemed to be transforming, starting to resemble that of the game’s alternate world. Anyone who had cultivated “Xin Jing Philosophy” could soon sense that the elements in the air were even thicker than in the other world… by just a bit.
Their bodies responded directly: Spiritual energy really was reviving.
As per “Xin Jing Philosophy,” Yan Tongwei drew the free-floating spiritual energy from the air into his body, guided it through a full circulation, and then opened his eyes. He could clearly see even the tiniest leg hairs on the little beetle climbing on the ceiling light.
Feeling fantastic, Yan Tongwei was exultant. Even as the tides of the era roared in, he stood at the very forefront. He leapt to his feet—only to learn the very first lesson of immortal cultivation from a prefab concrete ceiling: don’t get too cocky.
Meanwhile, An Qi, keeping her brother company, also completed a round of “Xin Jing Philosophy.” When she finished, she opened her eyes and happened to meet her brother’s gaze.
She burst into tears of joy and was wiping her face when her phone rang. She quickly answered, agreed to something, and hung up.
At that moment, Mo Bowen, who had just also finished drawing in spiritual energy in the restroom, returned to the patient ward. An Qi put down her phone. “Cousin says Grandpa is stopping by to check on… my brother.”
Mo Bowen smiled. “Let’s hope the old man can shut our parents up for good! Yan Tongwei just messaged me—he bowed to his grandpa too, so they’re coming over to visit.”
An Qi broke into a smile through her tears. “Perfect, we’ll have Grandpa take a look all at once, save another trip later.” These players were all going to have to let the elders check them out eventually, so better to do it early and get peace of mind.
Mo Bowen glanced at his brother-in-law, blinking up at him. “After that, it’s time to pay Principal Xiao a visit.”
An Qi nodded. “The Principal’s strength is unfathomable. We really need to prepare ourselves before going to see him.”
Xun Qiushui, despite never being physically active, was a talented mage in the making. After drawing spiritual energy into his body, he instinctively cast a rough whirlwind spell. To prove himself to his grandfather, he blew his father’s wig right off in front of everyone.
Only after his grandfather silently finished his tea did Xun Qiushui begin telling him all that he and his friends had experienced over these past days.
The old master, decisive as ever, told his assistant to prepare a car and took his grandson with him to An Jin’s hospital.
They kept it very low-key. So low-key, in fact, that when An Jin and An Qi’s parents were scolding their daughter at the door of the ward, the old gentleman suddenly “descended like a heavenly soldier.” The whole room froze when they saw, in real life, the elderly patriarch so often seen on television… everyone but An Qi and Mo Bowen.
“Our savior is here!” An Qi called out, throwing herself in front of the old master, immediately making a complaint. “My parents won’t believe me! Grandpa, you have to stand up for me!”
The old master patted her on the shoulder. Led by the sweating vice president and attending physician, he entered An Jin’s room.
By this time, An Jin could already sit up in bed, and gave the old master a weak but brilliant smile.
The old master signaled to his secretary to close the door and asked the idle onlookers to step out. However, An Jin and An Qi's parents were kept behind. The couple exchanged a glance and also realized the gravity of the situation: this time, their daughter wasn’t making things up.
The old master sat down, looking at An Jin. “Did you awaken some kind of special ability? Is that how I should put it?”
An Jin nodded, blinked his eyes, and then—all the devices hooked up to him lost power at once.
Afraid the old master might misunderstand, An Qi rushed forward, showed the remaining battery on her phone, then stuffed the phone into her brother’s arms.
They watched as the phone’s battery jumped from 50 percent to 95 percent, before the screen abruptly went black and a faint smell of scorching filled the air.
Quick as lightning, An Qi snatched her now-smoking phone from her brother, tossed it into the corner… and suddenly, half a fist-sized water sphere appeared out of nowhere, splashing directly onto the device.
The old master silently thought to himself: …These abilities are a bit different from what I expected…